A lightweight, self-contained command-line tool for Linux that captures command output, saves it to a file, and copies it to your clipboard.
Mainly used in testing Aura!
- 📋 Run any command and copy its output to clipboard
- 💾 Save output to file with timestamp headers
- 🎯 Support for both X11 (xclip/xsel) and Wayland (wl-copy)
- 🔧 Flexible filtering (head/tail lines)
- 📝 Multiple output modes (quiet, verbose, raw)
- ⚡ Zero dependencies - uses only Go standard library
# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/requiem-eco/clipboard-go.git
cd clipboard-go
# Build the binary
# Replace "cb" with whatever you want to call the binary, e.g.: xx, c, cbb, xcb, cbx, etc
go build -o cb .
# Install to /usr/local/bin (optional)
sudo cp cb /usr/local/bin/Download the latest pre-built binary from the Releases page:
# Download for your architecture (example for amd64)
wget https://github.com/requiem-eco/clipboard-go/releases/latest/download/cb-linux-amd64
# Make it executable
chmod +x cb-linux-amd64
# Move to PATH (optional)
sudo mv cb-linux-amd64 /usr/local/bin/cbFor clipboard support, you need one of the following tools installed:
- Wayland:
wl-copy(from wl-clipboard package) - X11:
xcliporxsel
# Fedora/RHEL
sudo dnf install wl-clipboard xclip
# Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt install wl-clipboard xclip
# Arch
sudo pacman -S wl-clipboard xclipcb [flags] <command> [args...]# Copy command output to clipboard
cb echo "hello world"
# Copy directory listing
cb ls -la
# Copy only first 10 lines of dmesg
cb -h 10 dmesg
# Save to custom file and show verbose output
cb -f output.txt -v ps aux
# Capture stderr instead of stdout
cb -e gcc missing_file.c
# Quiet mode - copy but don't print
cb -q echo "silent copy"
# Show only 5 lines but copy everything
cb -q 5 find /var/log
# Append to file instead of overwriting
cb -a -f log.txt date
# File only, no clipboard
cb -n -f backup.txt cat important.txt| Flag | Description |
|---|---|
-h X |
Copy only the head X lines of output |
-t X |
Copy only the tail X lines of output |
-q [X] |
Suppress stdout entirely, or show only X lines |
-f FILE |
Write output to specific file instead of /tmp/cb.txt |
-c, --clear |
Clear clipboard before writing |
-e, --error |
Copy stderr instead of stdout |
-a, --append |
Append output to file instead of overwriting |
-n |
Disable clipboard, only save to file |
-v, --verbose |
Show what was copied / debug info |
--no-temp |
Skip writing to file entirely |
-r, --raw |
Preserve terminal formatting/ANSI codes |
--delay N |
Wait N seconds before copying output |
--trim |
Trim leading and trailing whitespace |
--version |
Show program version |
--help |
Display help message |
When saving to file, cb adds a timestamp header:
[2025-11-17 19:41:29 "echo Hello, World!"]:
Hello, World!
When using -a/--append, multiple runs create a log:
[2025-11-17 19:41:29 "echo First run"]:
First run
[2025-11-17 19:42:15 "echo Second run"]:
Second run
# Get only last 20 lines of logs
cb -t 20 journalctl
# Get first 50 lines of a file
cb -h 50 cat large_file.txt# Copy git diff but don't clutter terminal
cb -q git diff
# Copy command output and append to daily log
cb -a -f ~/logs/daily-$(date +%Y-%m-%d).txt systemctl status# Capture and see what was copied
cb -v -e make 2>&1
# Save compilation errors without clipboard
cb -n -f errors.log -e cargo build# Keep colors and formatting
cb -r ls --color=always
# Copy formatted output with specific line limit
cb -r -h 30 bat colorful_file.rs- Go 1.21 or later
- Linux operating system
# Standard build
go build -o cb .
# Optimized build (smaller binary)
go build -ldflags="-s -w" -o cb .
# Build for different architectures
GOOS=linux GOARCH=amd64 go build -o cb-amd64 .
GOOS=linux GOARCH=arm64 go build -o cb-arm64 .# Run Go tests
go test -v ./...
# Run formatting check
gofmt -s -l .
# Run go vet
go vet ./...Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.
See LICENSE file for details.
Current version: 00.00.001
Check version:
cb --version